Railroad time-piece



1 (-Model.) v k D.P.HOYLE. L Railroad Time Piece.

No. 233,249. Patented Oct. 12,1880. P37, :1, I I

' UNITED STATES PATENT EErcE.

DAVID P. HOYLE, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

RAILROAD TIME-PIECE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 233,249, dated October 12, 1880,

Application filed September 15, 1880.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DAVID P. HOYLE, of Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railroad Time- Pieces; and I do hereby declare that the fol lowing is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which "will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

Figure 1 is a front view. View, partly broken.

This invention has relation to time-pieces, particularly such as are to be used on railroads by the engineers; and it consists in a timepiece, clock, or watch comprising two dials, each having its own set of hands moved by independent and distinct trains, each train being provided with its own distinct mainspring or other prime mover.

The difficulty of always having correct and reliable time on moving trains is very great, owing to the jarring and jolting of the engine or cab. It is even difficult to so construct clocks and watches for these purposes that they will always be sure to keep going, leaving aside the question of correct time altogether.

The history of railroad traffic proves that accident upon accident, some causing loss of life and others immense damage to the rolling stock and freight, have occurred, not through any negligence or dereliction of duty, but simply and solely because the clock or watch relied upon for correct time has stopped and started again unknown to the engineer, who therefore ran his train of schedule time and into destruction.

Another disadvantage to the railroad-companies exists in the fact that deceit may under the present construction of railroad timepieces be easily practiced upon the officials by the employs. For instance, if a freight-train were scheduled to stop at a given siding for a certain length of time, and the engineer neglected to pass out from the siding for some time after the allotted period, which is not unfrequently the case, the engineer, to save him- Fig. 2 is a rear (Model) self from merited discharge, has only to turn back the hands of his clock or watch proportionately and then blame it all on a too-slow clock.

I aim at preventing all danger of accident and guarding against the foregoing species of deceit by my invention, which is as follows:

A designates a clockcase, on the face 13 of which I arrange the two distinct dials O G, each dial having the hours and minutes as usual and the seconds-dial. Each of the dials O O is supplied with its own distinct hands a a, which are operated each set by its own independent and distinct train and prime mover D, as shown in the figures.

With such a clock it is impossible that the time should be unknown, for the two trains will never stop at the same time, and should one of them run down and stop or get out of running order the engineer will readily notice it by comparison with the dial of the other one, and be governed accordingly.

It is not within the limit of the ordinary possibilities that the same accident should happen to both the movements, or to both the mainsprings, or to both the spindles, or to both sets of hands at the same time. Hence my new time-piece may be fully relied upon in all emergencies short of an actual smash up or collision.

Again, deceit on the part of the employ'is impossible with such a time-piece, because, though he would have boldness enough to turn back the hands of an ordinary time-piece, he never would have the uncalculatin g hardihood to turn back both sets of hands on my timepiece, because the impossibility of the two movements meeting with the same mishap would be sufficient to convict him.

The invention is designed for application either as a clock or watch, and in either case possesses the same distinctive advantages. The two trains may be inclosed within a single pair of plates or each may have its own.

My invention is not to be considered the same in purpose or effect as a set of clockwork mechanism in which two springs are employed to actuate a single pair of hands, or in which a single spring communicates motion to two distinct sets of hands, because the effectiveness of my invention depends prihands operated by its own separate and distinct train and prime mover, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I affix my signature in presence of I 5 two Witnesses.

marily on complete isolation of the working parts from each other and the prevention of all community of action.

I claim as my invention 5 As a new article of manufacture the hereindescribed railroad time-piece, consisting of a watch or clock case, A, having the face 13 with two distinct dials thereon, each of said dials being provided with its own separate and dis- :o tinct set of hands, and each of said sets of DAVID P. HOYLE. Witnesses:

T. J. MOTIGHE, T. A. OoNNoLLY. 

